Lady Luck
by 3cdowens
Summary: A girl that has put into a mental hospital was to be shipped to Arkum Asylum, but she manages to escape. She quickley makes friends with the Riddler, and starts her own career as a rouge.
1. Born Lucky

The Bat signal shone in the night sky, The Riddler, and his accomplice had just made off with several thousands of dollars from the Gotham Bank. The two ran through alleys, and streets, trying to avoid the cops and the Dark Knight. "Could you slow down?" "How about you keep up?" She called back to him. She kept far ahead leaning back on the wheels built into the back of her boots.

"Now… Who's this Batman guy you told me about?" She slowed down a bit a looked back at him. "You're new to Gotham, aren't you?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow. "Ya…" She looked ahead. "He's a lunitic," The Riddler explained. "He claims he's fighting to protect Gotham, but I think-" She put her hand up to silence him, she poked her head out of the alley, "Looks clear," Lady Luck said.

"Where are we going?" The Riddler asked. Lady Luck shrugged, "I'm going to my hideout, you can go wherever you like." "Now hold on, I want to split that third suitcase up." He complained. "You could have carried 2 suit cases like me, but you had to carry a cane like a dumass. Why did you bring a cane to a robbery?" "It operates my devices, also don't call me that. I'm far more intelligent than you." "And, yet I'm currently in charge of twice as much money as you, and seeing the way things are going, I could easily just outrun you. You'd never see me again." "I could hunt you down," The Riddler threatened. "You could go crawl in a hole and die, but I guess I'm not that lucky, am I?" "Why do you call yourself, 'Lady Luck', anyway?"

Lady Luck smiled to herself, "You figure it out, you're supposed to be a genius, according to your introduction back at the bank." "Is it a childhood nick name, perhaps?" He asked. "Nope," She shook her head. "Is it-" "Freeze!" The pair had been too distracted to notice the police officers that had quickly closed in on them. "Drop everything, and put your hands in the air!" The police demanded. The Riddler froze."Don't worry," Lady Luck reassured him, "I have a plan, just get behind me, and stay as close as you can." "What?" "Just do it, trust me." Lady Luck said, annoyed. "I won't tell you again, drop everything, and put your hands up, or we will open fire!"

"Get behind me; I swear it'll be fine. Just trust me, please." Lady Luck begged. He gave in, and walked behind her. "Now, how close-" "As close as you can… Without… touching me." He inched a bit closer, "This is your last warning, we will-" "Oh, just hurry up and shoot me you pig!" Lady Luck screamed. Bullock didn't hesitate, "Fire!" An eruption of gunfire exploded, and The Riddler winced, but Lady Luck was unaffected. Hundreds of bullets sprayed by her, but not one of them hit her. "What… How?" The Riddler wondered out loud.

After a few minutes, the guns stopped. They had run out of bullets. "That's why I'm called, "Lady Luck", now let's go!" Lady Luck took off, and jumped onto and ran right over one of the cop cars. The Riddler followed behind her. They ran into another alley, and climbed over a fence. They darted across another street, and into an abandoned hospital. The two stopped to catch their breath, Lady Luck collapsed onto one of the chairs that were left behind. This had actually been her hideout for some time, there was no demolition scheduled, so she was in no rush to leave.

"Care to explain what THAT was?" The Riddler asked. "A shoot out," Lady Luck answered blankly. "You know what I mean! How did you not get shot!" "Or you. You're welcome, by the way." Jasmine added. The Riddler just stared at her, expecting answers. Lady Luck sighed, "I'm not sure what it is, exactly. I'm not sure if they always just miss, or maybe the bullets curve…" "How though? That's what I want to know." "No idea, I guess I'm just really lucky. I was born that way. Really weird stuff happens in my favor. I have no idea how to explain it." "And you put so much faith in it?" Jasmine just shrugged.

Lady Luck was indeed, extremely lucky, the odds were almost always in her favor. She survived being born two months early; she survived a terrible school bus crash with no injury. She's never even lost a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, or lost a coin toss.

"Now, let's split up the money, shall we?" Lady Luck asked. They counted out the money in the third suitcase; individually they each had $13,000. Lady Luck stuffed the money from the third suit case in her coat; The Riddler kept his share in the suit cases. Lady Luck put her suitcase under her matress, which was an old hospital bed. She also placed her only weapon, her lucky revolver, beside the briefcase.

"If you don't mind me asking, just how old are you?" The Riddler asked, the two had sat down and started talking. The Riddler wasn't too keen on leaving since the cops were still sniffing around the area. They had moved to the second floor, it was mostly still intact. "Eighteen, why?" The Riddler shrugged, "I just found it odd, for someone that looks like she should be in high school to be robbing a bank." Lady Luck shrugged, "I need the money."

Just then, The Riddler's gaze shot up towards the floors that had fallen in. "I just saw something move up there…" Lady Luck looked up, then felt the wind of something flying by her head; she looked behind her; a batarange. Batman landed before them, and Lady Luck darted to a broken window, completly ditching The Riddler, and ran across the roof. She jumped to the next roof and then to a fire escape that led up to the top of the next, taller building. She slipped inside the building through an open skylight, and onto a catwalk. She looked down and saw it was just one large room. There were random arrangements of boxes to the side, along with canisters that looked a lot like oxygen tanks. She saw there was a table, with a small desk next to it, in the center of the room.

Lady Luck climbed down the ladder, she figured she was safe and hidden there, and walked over. She saw the longer table had straps on each end, complete with cuffs. The small desk had a tape recorder, which Lady Luck picked up, rewound, and played.

"Mr. Hues' mental state has completely dilapidated after a few hours under this new formula. This mixture is obviously much stronger than the last." There was screaming in the background. "He seems to have severe Coulrophobia." "Coulrophobia?" She wondered out loud. She stopped the recorder, and put it down. There was also a notebook on the desk, with the name, Jonathan Crane on the front. "Crane… Professor Crane?" She had heard of him, she had do research for a class, and she found a news article about him. He had brought a gun to a class he was teaching, and he was fired for it. She did more research into him and found out he became the infamous Scarecrow; Jasmine realized this was his hideout.

She broke into a run for the ladder, but she froze and turned when she heard a loud, metal, grating sound. It was a large metal door opening, and Scarecrow stepped through. Before he saw her, Lady Luck hid behind a stack of boxes. Scarecrow closed the door, and made his way to the table. He pulled off his hat and mask, revealing his face, Lady Luck recognized him from a picture she saw of him. Lady Luck suddenly started to wonder what happened to Mr. Hues… The hairs on the back of her neck stood up when she the thought about it. She started back towards the ladder when she saw he had his back to her, trying her best to be quiet about it.

She kept her eyes on him, hoping her luck would hold out, and he wouldn't turn around. She didn't notice the large stack of boxes, which had a glass container of cockroaches at the top, until it was too late. She ran into it, causing the glass container of roaches to hit the floor, and shatter, causing Crane to turn around. Lady Luck froze, a deer caught in headlights. "Care to explain what you're doing here?" Crane asked, after getting over his own shock. "I… Was hiding from a guy... Dressed as a bat." "Ah," Crane understood, he took a few steps towards her. "Um, sorry about the cockroaches…" Lady Luck apologized. "I'll just be going now…" She turned back toward the ladder, but stopped. "What's Coulrophobia?" She asked. Crane eyebrow rose, "I see you've been doing more than just hiding." He said, looking at his tape recorder. He took a few more steps towards her, "It's a fear of clowns." He was now close enough to reach out and touch her. "Oh, thanks." She said, and turned to finally go, but she felt something slam into the back of her head. She stumbled, and collapsed.

She awoke strapped to the table she was earlier, Scarecrow was staring down at her, he had put his burlap sack mask and hat back on. "Good, you're awake. Are you comfortable?" "Oh, yes. These straps are very fitting." Lady Luck said sardonically, jerking at the strap holding her left arm. Without saying anything, Scarecrow lifted an oxygen mask that was connected to one of the tanks that had been moved over to the desk. "What's that?" She asked, looking at the tank. "Fear toxin," He answered, pressing the mask over her mouth and nose. His calmness and… Professionalism disturbed her to no end, but she stayed still, hoping to somehow ride the ordeal out.

He turned the valve, but nothing seemed to come out, it was empty. Crane got up, and went to get another tank. Lady Luck started to jerk and pull at the straps, and her right hand came right out of the cuff. By the time Scarecrow turned back around, she was pulling her last foot free. She ran for the ladder, praying that he wouldn't catch her. She managed to get up to the catwalk, and slip out the skylight she entered through.

She ran across the roof, but felt someone grab her arm, she turned saw it was Batman, who had apperatly been waiting for her. She didn't put up a fight as she was taken to the cops waiting on the street below. Batman took her mask off, and Commissioner Gordon looked closely at her. "Jasmine... She was one of the prisoners that got away during the prison transport. She was headed to Arkum." Lady Luck glared at him, but didn't say anything. She was to be dragged back to prison, it was technically a mental hospital, but to Lady Luck, it was just a prison with doctors.

They put her into a cop car, where she noticed someone sitting beside her, The Riddler. His Mask had been taken off, and he looked liked he's been ruffed up. "Hey," Lady Luck said, not sure what else to say. "Where'd you go?" He asked her. She shrugged, "I ran into Scarecrow, but I managed to get away." "I thought you said you had good luck," "I do, I got away, didn't I?" The car started up, and went down the highway. "What is real name, anyway?" The Riddler asked. "Jasmine," She said, without her black masqaurade mask hiding her face, hiding her real name seemed pointless. "And yours?" She asked. "Edward Nigma," He answered with a smile.

Jasmine was quite happy when she found out that Edward's cell would be right in front of hers. It seemed the place didn't mind having males and females on the same hall. She sat on her bed, and started to think of what to do next. The first time she escaped, she wasn't even trying to get away. The other prisoner in the truck had caused the driver to wreck, and she took the opportunity to run. She didn't talk to him during the transport, but she found out from listening to one of the guards his name was Victor Zsasz. She didn't dare ask what the tally marks on his skin were.

She kept quiet and listened, while Edward talked. She didn't dare tell him to shut up, even though she wanted to, he was her only friend at the time. He did seem very intelligent, completely full of himself, but intelligent. It was a breath of fresh air, compared to the idiots at her school she was used to. She wasn't a very social person, but she found eccentric personalities to be quite… Endearing.

"If you drop me off a building, I will not break. If you drop me in the ocean, I will. What am I?" Jasmine sat and pondered the riddle. After a minute or two, she answered, "A tissue." "Correct," Edward sighed. "Jeez, Ed. Do you ever shut up?" The man was standing in front of the glass wall, looking at Edward like he could see through the stone wall. Jasmine blinked a few times, his skin was chalk white. "Excuse me?" The Riddler shot back. "Who are you?" Jasmine asked him before he could respond. "Call me Joker." "I'm Lady Luck, or Jasmine." "A pleasure to meet ya! Now what brings you to the madhouse?" Jasmine shrugged, "I heard the food here was amazing, I just had to get a room here." The Joker busted out in manic laughter, Edward just raised an eyebrow.

Days past in the asylum, and they all discovered they all had the same sadistic humor. "Wow, really Edward? A dead baby joke?" Jasmine smiled. "Well, it's not technically dead…" He said. Jasmine chuckled, and the Joker just kept on laughing. "What are you laughing about?" A voice said, coming from the cell next to Jasmine's. Joker stopped long enough to say, "Oh, none of your business, Hatter." "Ohhh..." He whined in disappointment. "Who is that?" Jasmine asked. "That would be Jervis," Edward explained. "He's wrapped up in his own little-" "I am the Mad Hatter!" He said, causing Jasmine to jump. "The Mad Hatter? From Alice in Wonderland?" She whispered to herself, "I love that book." Not as much as Jervis of course, but was in her top ten. "Are... Are you Alice?" He asked. "No, no I'm not, I'm Jasmine." "Oh... Have you seen her?" "No, I haven't. I'm sorry." Jervis didn't respond.

"Is he always like this?" Jasmine asked. "Almost," A voice told her, from the other side of the left wall of her cell. "Oh… Who are you?" "Ivey, Poison Ivey." Her voice almost purred the name. "Your name is?" "Lady Luck, or Jasmine, whichever." "What brings you to this prison?" Jasmine pondered, thinking over her words. "I… Killed a few people." "Why?" The way Ivey talked sounded like they were talking about the news, or the weather. Lady Luck bit her lip, not wanting to tell. "Alright, you don't need to tell me," Ivey told her. Jasmine looked back at Edward, who had a puzzled expression.

"It's nice to meet you, Jasmine." Dr. Cassidy smiled at her newest patient. Jasmine smirked in return. "Jasmine, I'd like to begin out session with some tests. Are you familiar with ink blots?" Jasmine nodded. Dr. Cassidy reached into her desk and pulled a stack of papers. She held up the first one, "A dancer," Jasmine said. She held up the next, "A drooping flower." She held up another card, "War."

"A demon," She said to the final blot. Cassidy put them away, and wrote down some notes. "Jasmine, can you tell me what happened the night before you were arrested?" Jasmine was silent; she went over in her mind the events that took place. "Jasmine, you need to talk about it." Dr. Cassidy urged. "You need to understand what you did wasn't normal, nor were the times before-""I know." Jasmine cut her doctor off. "I've never been normal, I've been told that almost every day of my life." She wasn't looking at her doctor, but at the floor. "Can you tell me why you did it?" She said, after waiting for Jasmine to relax again. "Why I killed those pigs? Or…?" "To start out with, yes." Jasmine took a deep breath, and let it out again. "They were murders," She said, after thinking about it. "Why do you think that?" "I _know _that. They killed my dad; they took away my entire life… They should have just killed me." Dr. Cassidy was silent a few seconds, but then said, "We can help you, if you let us." Jasmine shook her head, "It's too late now… My friends, family… They all called me a monster…" Dr. Cassidy bit her lip, "It's not too late to restart, to rebuild your life." Jasmine did not respond.


	2. Escape

The prisoner was dragged down the hall of the asylum, sporting a new straitjacket. The other residents peered down the hall way at him, Jasmine on the other hand hadn't even notice, or maybe she didn't care. They past week she had been completely silent. She looked at her nails, or what was left of them. They clipped them when she got here. She didn't look up until he was inside his cell. Her eyes widened, it was Crane. She bit her lip, he hadn't done anything to her, well except knock her out and strap her to a table, but the sight of him caused her to panic a bit.

He looked back at her, studying her as though as he's seen her before. Jasmine wondered if her mask had been enough to protect her identity, he could have simply taken it off and looked, he may have and then put it back on. "Well, if it isn't my newest patient, it's a shame your session ended so early." "Ya… Real shame." Jasmine said in monotone. 'Shit, he recognized me…' "You may want to think about another hairdo… It's the reason I recognized you." Jasmine reached up and touched her blond hair; all of it was spiked, and jutted out to the right.

She made her way back to her bunk, shaking her head, there was no way in hell she was changing her hair. Jasmine grabbed the book she was currently working on, it was a collection of Aesop's fables. She flipped to where her bookmark was, when Edward started up, "Want to here a riddle?" '_No_, I want to _read_. That is why I picked up this _book_.' "Uh, sure. Why not?" "If you find me, you'll want to share me. If you share me, you'll lose me. What am I?" "A secret," Jasmine answered, failing to mention she's heard the riddle before.

The Riddler looked a bit irritated, "Correct." He said. "You don't like to be outsmarted, do you?" Jasmine asked, knowing how much he prided himself on his genius. She also knew it was pure luck that she'd heard several of his riddles before. "You'll never outsmart me! I am The Riddler! The greatest mind in Gotham!" Jasmine smirked, she loved irritating him, one of the few bit of entertainment she had this hell hole. "Alright, Lucky, riddle me this!" Jasmine frowned, and hoped the nickname wouldn't stick. "How is a raven like a writing desk?" Edward smiled, Jasmine lifted her pointing hand to point out that riddle didn't have answer, but stopped herself, remembering that she heard the answer before. She thought for a moment, trying to recall the answer, "Because it can produce a few notes, though they are very flat; and it is never put with the wrong end in front." "It's not even supposed to have an answer." Edward mumbled to himself, Jasmine grinned. "I can't believe I never thought of that…" Hatter said to himself, though loud enough for Jasmine to hear, causing her to smile even wider. She didn't come up with the answer herself, but it didn't matter to her.

She returned to her book, Edward sat on is bunk, probably attempting to think of new riddles. "Oh, no…" Someone down the hall said. "What is it?" Another prisoner asked. "Lyle Bolton on the night shift tonight for this hall. " Jasmine looked at Edward, "Uh, Ed?... Edward?... Edward!" He finally looked at her. "What?" "Who's Lyle Bolton?" "Why?" Jasmine rolled her eyes, "He's on guard duty tonight, so who is he?" Edward bit his lip, and said. "He's a real asshole, beats up on the inmates here." His answer made the book I her hand start to shake. She was about to ask why nobody has said anything to the doctors or other guards, but then she remembered almost all the inmates were considered insane, no one would believe them. They were also convicts, so who would care? She looked over into Jonathan's cell, he even looked a bit unnerved, biting his lip, but never looking up from his book.

Night fell, and the guard Bolton arrived. Jasmine did her best to appear asleep on her cot. Hoping he would see her as, "new meat." Then she heard his voice, a bit too close to her cell. "Well, if it isn't Dr. Crane," She heard him say. She looked at him through one eye, and watched. He was standing in front of Scarecrow's cell, looking into the Plexiglas window. Jonathan said nothing and she couldn't really see what he was doing, it was "lights out" hours ago, and his cell was almost pitch black, except for the light that shined in from the hallway. Lyle Bolton unlocked and opened his door, and went inside. Jasmine heard something that sounded like someone falling to the floor, then a punch. She sat up, staring at the Jonathan's cell, trying to make out what was going on. He was beating him, she knew that.

She didn't know why she even cared about him. Scarecrow tried to do God knows what to her back at his hide out. The bastard deserves this, he brought on himself, Jasmine tried to convince herself of this. He was a criminal, a sadistic maniac… Yet she still felt _sorry_ for him. Bolton was so much bigger than him; he looked like he could break him in half. Then she started to think of how she was in same situation, that it could have been her being beaten. She was a criminal, a murderer. He was her brother in binds… Brother in madness.

She ran over to her Plexiglas window, and managed to make out silhouettes, the large one picking up the smaller one, and punching him in the gut, which caused Jonathan to whimper a bit. She couldn't stand it anymore. She backed away a few steps, and then slammed into the window, trying to get his attention. Then, she started screaming at him, "Hey! Leave him alone! He's done nothing wrong!" She slammed her open palms into the window, trying to get her point across. Bolton looked at her, punched Crane one last time in the face, and then dropped him. He headed straight to her cell door, he had completely forgotten to lock Scarecrow's door.

She backed away, now realizing her mistake; she climbed up to the top bunk, hoping to get away from the guard. Her heart and mind was racing, he opened her door, "Ah, I thought they said there would be a new prisoner here, I'll teach you to try and tell me what to do…" She was shaking, and she suddenly thought of her dad. She wanted him to save her, to get her out of this situation like he always did… But no, he was never coming to her rescue again.

An urge suddenly hit her, like a smoker has the urge to smoke. A plan formed in her head, she could satisfy herself, and then escape. She lunged from the top bunk, and clung to Bolton's uniform. She sunk her teeth into his neck, feeling as she pierced the skin, than muscle. Bolton screamed, dropping his keys onto the cell floor. Jasmine began pulling at the muscle, feeling the tendons trying to hold onto their owner. Blood had filled her mouth, the metallic taste sending her into pure ecstasy. She let go of him, spat out the chunk of neck in her mouth, and got on her hands and knees, lapping up the crimson fluid from the floor like a dog. Bolton ran out of the cell, towards the infirmary. Jasmine was trembling, rubbing the blood on her hands. Then she remembered she had a chance to escape, and pulled herself away from her midnight snack.

She grabbed the keys from the floor, and ran out into the hall. Edward was up, standing behind his window, eyes wide, staring at his friend. He looked like he was trying to ask a question, but the words would not come out. "I'll explain later... We need to escape." She said, putting the key into the lock and opening his cell door."There's a way to open all the doors on that end of the hall, we could let all the other prisoners out,"Edward said. "_Why_ would we do that?" Jasmine asked, eyebrow raised. "We could use the chaos to escape." Edward explained. "Here then," Edward took the keys, and ran down the hall. Jasmine noticed Jonathan just outside his cell; he was struggling to keep standing.

Just then, several guards and a few doctors came running to the hallway. The guards were armed with Tasers, night sticks, and a couple with guns. "What the hell?" One of the doctors yelled, eyes wide. One orderly ran up, and before he could grab her, Jasmine lunged and bit into his neck like she did with Bolton. The orderly let out a scream, desperately trying to pull her off. "Somebody sedate her for God's sakes!" One of the doctors yelled. Jasmine managed to exercise a bit more control, and instead of tearing at the neck muscles, pulled away was soon as she had pierced the carotid artery. She latched onto the other side of his neck; Jasmine was beginning to lose control again, caught up in the taste of her obsession.

The cell door all slid open, but all the orderlies and doctors were to preoccupied with the patient currently lapping up the blood running down the neck of her victim, to pay much attention. Then there were gunshots; Jasmine looked up and saw Joker had managed to get a gun from one of the guards, and then proceeded to shoot the guards and orderlies. Jasmine let go of the orderly, whose eyes were now dim. He fell to the blood covered floor, lacking the strength to keep standing. Jasmine ran her fingers through her hair.

With the guards and orderlies out of the way, the inmates ran down the hall, and out the door. Edward rejoined Jasmine, "Come on," She said. They ran, following the crowd, down the hall, and found an emergency exit. The guards had run to deal with situation with Jasmine, so they ran through without much problem. Outside they were several snipers posted, they were armed with tranquilizers. The searchlights shone on the prisoners, and then the sound of the gunshots caused them to scatter. Jasmine ran strait to the fence, which was decorated with a "Danger: Electricity" sign, and razor wire on top.

Jasmine ran down the length of the fence, searching for some way to get through. She spotted a small hole where the fence had been bent back, and the earth was dug away. They couldn't get through without being electrocuted. "Damn it!" Edward suddenly yelled, reaching for something on his back. He pulled out the tranquilizer that hit him. He tried walking forward, but stumbled a bit, grabbing a hold of Jasmine shoulder for support. She felt the wind of another dart go just by her neck, and landed in the mud on the other side of the chain link fence.

Jasmine was then blessed by another lucky break; the searchlights suddenly went out. Jasmine quickly checked the fence, placing the back of her hand to it, nothing happened, the power had been cut. "Ed, you still with me?" "Ya," Edward said, barely able to keep standing. "Do think you can crawl through?" She pointed to the hole. Edward got down, and pulled himself through the hole, his uniform catching and tearing on the fence. Jasmine followed, then helped Edward up, throwing his arm around her shoulders. She struggled to walk, Edward, who was now barely conscious, was far too heavy for her.

They made their way to the docks, and Jasmine spotted a guard, who wasn't paying attention to the mainland, inside a police boat. Jasmine put Edward down on the docks; he managed to stay sitting upright. "Stay here, and be quiet," She whispered, quickly sneaking over to the boat.

She climbed aboard; the guard still hadn't noticed her. She grabbed the anchor, and rammed it into the back of the guards head, and he collapsed onto the wheel. Jasmine grabbed him, chuckling to herself when she saw the headphones on his head. She flung his body overboard, but not before reaching into his pocket and taking his Walkman. She ran back over to Edward, and dragged him across the docks, then lifted him onto the boat. He was now completely out cold.

Jasmine turned the boat on, and pushed the accelerated forward, as far as she dared. She had never actually been on a boat, and now she had to navigate one to the mainland. Jasmine looked back, wondering if anyone else would be getting away tonight, then turned her head back towards the mainland. She wondered what to do once, if she got there. She couldn't stay at the hospital, which would be the first place they would look. She then remembered the abandoned school she saw when she first arrived at the pus filled orifice of a city. Then she thought of her friend, she couldn't carry him across the city… nor could she wait for him to wake up. She had to leave him somewhere…

She spotted a dock, and steered the best she could to it. She dragged Riddler by his arms onto the dock, there didn't seem to be anyone around, thankfully. She looked around, thinking of what to do with him. She finally decided to leave him underneath the dock; he wouldn't be in the open, at least. After dragging him off, then pushing his body underneath the dock, she climbed up the hill, taking in the city. She was born in the country, on a farm to be more specific. She was used to mountains, and endless fields and forests. She found she didn't like this concrete jungle as much as she thought she would.


	3. Close Call

She kept to the alleyways, almost constantly on alert for the police, or Batman. She climbed over a chain-link fence, and dropped down the other side. She was heading back to the hospital, thinking that maybe, just maybe, her money and belongs were still there. She almost walked out of the alley, when she spotted a cop car driving up the road. She ducked back in, and crouched beside a dumpster, hoping they would just keep driving. They stopped, Jasmine jaw tightened, her old hideout was just right across the street.

Two offices got out of the car, and then opened the back doors to let out a canine. Jasmine swallowed, she could feel her heart racing in her chest, threatening to explode. "Go search inside, I'll look around out here." The officer said to his partner, turning and heading straight for the alley, the dog was leading the way. The dog sniffed the ground, then the dumpster, slowly making his way to what his was searching for. Jasmine had to move, or be attacked by that huge German Shepard. She bolted, running down the alley, and around a corner. "Stop, police!" was all she heard, along with the canine barking at looked around for a way to get to the roofs, to get away from the dog, which was now running behind her, and quickly catching up. She spotted a fire escape, and ran across the street to it. She grabbed on, and pulled herself up. When she got to the top of the building, she ran and jumped to the next building, pulling herself up with her hands. She darted and crouched behind a large ventilation shaft that was almost as tall as she was. She waited, and listened; the dogs barking grew distant, then a few minutes later she heard the cop car going past the building she was on top of. They called her name and Edwards; she hoped they would find neither.

She got back down on the ground and went back to the hospital, and reached under her mattress. To her great surprise, she wrapped her fingers around the briefcase of money, and pulled it out. The briefcase held about $6,500, which would be plenty for her right now, if she could keep a hold of it. She also grabbed her gun. In the corner of the room, she had hidden her personal belongs, which were all kept in a gym bag, under some debris. She grabbed it and threw the strap over her head, and onto her shoulder. She unzipped it, and put her revolver inside of it. She ran outside, and started towards the abandoned school.

She opened the wooden window, it was stuck at first, and took a bit of effort, and then Jasmine slipped inside. She looked around the old classroom; old desks were pushed to back of the room, the chalkboard still had chalk markings on it, though most of it was smeared. The electricity still worked, as did the plumbing. She smiled at her good fortune, turning on the lights of the hallway. She walked down the hall, until she found what she was looking for; the nurse's station. Inside were 2 beds, and counters, that included a sink. Jasmine didn't dare drop her cargo yet. She walked quickly as she could, she was exhausted and wanted to finish and go to sleep on one of the beds, and checked each one of the classrooms.

Once she was satisfied she was the only one there, she went back to the nurse's station. She climbed onto the counter, and removed one of the ceiling tiles, and placed the briefcase inside the ceiling, she then put the tile back. She went to the counter on the other side of the room, and did the same with her gym bag. She collapsed onto the bed; resting her head on one of her arms, and for once, her insomnia did not keep her from her dreamland.

It was 3 in the afternoon by the time she woke up. She got up and stretched, then walked over to the bathroom. She jumped when she saw her reflection in the body length mirror on the outside of the door; she looked like hell, literally. Her dull grey outfit that Arkham Asylum issued her was now soaked in blood, especially her chest, sleeves and knees. Her face was caked in dried blood, which looked almost black. Her hair was caked in it as well. She pulled off the ruined outfit and tossed it to the corner of the room. She stepped into bathroom, and turned on the sink. She washed her hair out first, getting most of the blood and gel out. The water was icy cold, giving her goose bumps when it made contact with her skin.

She finished washing, drying, and dressing herself. She put on a long vintage shirt, a black hoodie, along with some black jeans and a pair of running shoes. She thought about her outfit, which was in Arkham. She started to wonder how the hell she'd get it back… If she ever did get it back. She dried her hair, and then styled with gel. She made a mental note she was running low and would need to get more. She turned and looked back into the mirror; she checked and made sure all of the blood was gone. She turned and twisted her torso, as to look at her gut, or her lack of one. She smiled, she had been picked on because of her weight when she was younger, which was just before the incident. All the running and lack of a proper meal had rewarded her with an hourglass figure... Like the woman in those magazines.

She looked at her face; she had an acne problem since she was 14, and had only left her alone a few months ago. Even though her acne and double chin were now gone, she still frowned. Her face was still… Ugly. Jasmine wasn't exactly sure what it was, her nose was oily, like always, her dark eyebrows suggested her hair was naturally a different color, even though it wasn't. There was also her jaw, it looked… Masculine, much like the shape of her nose.

She quickly turned away from the mirror, and headed to the window she entered through yesterday, and she exited the building. She looked around the school building, until she found an air conditioner unit. She used it to climb up to the roof of the building, and walked across it, looking around at the skyscrapers. She looked and saw a building with a low enough roof, especially with car parked next to it. She took off across the roof, and jumped off. She climbed over the chain-link fence, then jumped onto the car, and then climbed onto the roof. She ran and used a gas tank to jump onto the next roof. She ran from roof to roof, until she came to a dead-end. A street separated her from the next building, it was too far for her to jump.

She looked down from the 15 story building, and then she took a step back to admire the scenery. The sun was setting, it was winter, so the sun set fairly early. "Having fun?" A woman's voice asked from behind her. Jasmine turned around, and saw a woman dressed in a leather suit, which had cat ears on the top. "I thought I was the only girl who could maneuver across rooftops like that." She said. "Who are you?" Jasmine asked. "Catwoman, you?" "Lady Luck," Jasmine said. "You're not going to tell me your real name?" "You didn't tell me yours, so why should I tell you mine?" Jasmine asked. Catwoman smiled, "Fair enough... Didn't you escape from Arkham last night; I think that's where I heard your name before." Jasmine nodded, "Yes... Do you... Know who else escaped? Or if they caught anyone?" "I might have... Why?" "I just want to know, do you?" Jasmine not only wanted to know if her friend got away, she also wanted to know if she had to watch out for Crane. It was a big city, and her paranoid mind, he was looking for her, but he most likely wasn't, in reality.

"I heard 4 people got away, including you. I think it was... Riddler, the Mad Hatter, and Scarecrow." "Do you know where The Riddler is?" Jasmine asked. "No, I don't... Sorry." Jasmine then noticed a black cat standing next to Catwoman's leg. Jasmine crouched and stuck out her hand, offering to pet her. "Her name is Isis," Catwoman explained. Isis walked forward, and pressed her head into Jasmine's hand. "That's funny... She normally doesn't take to strangers." Jasmine scratched Isis's chin, "Funny, I guess you and I have something in common." Jasmine said to the feline. She stood back up, "I guess some people come across as trustable. Do you know where I might find out where he is?" "I suppose you could ask the Penguin." Catwoman said. Jasmine furrowed her eyebrows, and stared at her, "What?" Catwoman rolled her eyes, "He runs the bar called the Iceberg Lounge, and that's just what he's called." Jasmine turned and looked down at the street, searching for the bar. "Where is it?" Jasmine asked, but the time Jasmine turned back around, Catwoman was gone. Jasmine just stood there for a second, "... Well... That was just rude."

Jasmine made her way across the roofs, night had descended upon Gotham; the lights from the city always dazzled her. She had planned to move to the city after she was done with college; but, as she already found out, plans can change.

She then spotted the bar, the name of it was in front of an iceberg; the whole bar seemed to have that theme. She made her way down to the street, and stood for a moment just looking at the entrance. She tried to muster her courage, the little she had, and then she walked inside.

She stood out like a sour thumb, or that how she felt at least. The woman wore fancy dresses, and the men sore suits, making her shirt and jeans stand out. They glanced at her, but not for more than a moment, it was odd though. They didn't have any puzzled looks; they didn't seem to mind she was there. Jasmine contemplated what action she should take next, until she spotted a pool that was for pet seals and penguins. She practically ran to it, like a child at a zoo, wondering if they would snap at her if she were to try and pet them.

"Can I help you?" A man's voice asked her, as she was reaching to pet one of the seals. She whirled around, and saw a short man, who wore a top hat, a tux and monocle. He also had a cigarette which was at the end of a long, gold cigarette holder. "Um, yes," She said, remembering the reason she had walked inside in the first place. "I was looking for someone called the Penguin?" She said, hoping she was talking to the right person. Then again, when does Lady Luck ever talk to the wrong person? "Why, may I ask, would you be looking for him?" " I need information, I-" He stopped her by putting his hand up, then beckoned her to follow him.

They went in through the back door, the room looked shadier than the one presented to the "common" visitors. "Now tell me, what information are you looking for?" "I assume you must be the Penguin?" He nodded. Jasmine continued, "I need to know where I can find the Riddler." "What's the information worth to you?" He asked. Jasmine wasn't just desperate to find a friend, she needed his help. She wasn't stupid; she was actually very gifted, with an I.Q. of 132. Though, when it came to streets smarts, she was a complete idiot. She needed someone's help, someone she felt she could trust.

Silver pulled out a hundred dollar bill and handed it to him. "This enough?" The Penguin looked at it, and then put it away in his coat. "From what I've heard he's set up in some abandoned storage building." "Where is that?"

As it turned out, that wouldn't matter. Jasmine stayed to the alleys, hoping to avoid the police. The chill of the night air was starting to set in, she was thankful she wasn't running around in-costume, spandex isn't exactly warm.

She limbed up the building using a fence, then pulling herself up the rest of the way using a windowsill. She started running to the nest rooftop, but she stopped when she noticed someone was already on it. An all to familiar black cape and cowl. Her heart started to race, she thought about taking him by surprise, since she hadn't noticed her yet. Then she thought about being dragged back to Arkham, and how she had just gotten her freedom back.

She turned and crept slowly and quietly back to climb down, when Batman turned around. Jasmine ran right, jumped and climbed up a building that was a story hight than the one she was on a moment ago, she managed to grab a pipe and pull herself up. Batman attempted to stop her with his batclaw, but missed and hit a nearby air shaft.

Jasmine climbed down the other side of the building, putting her feet on the wall off the next building and moving down with her hands on the other building. She dropped when she got halfway down, and darted across the street into another alley.

There was a red door, which she pushed open and slipped inside. She couldn't see, the room was pitch black. She ran forward, searching for a place to hide, but managed to trip and fall over what felt like a chair. She got back up, and with her sight now better adjusted, she saw it was a row of seats. Was this a theater of some kind?

She went back to the wall, and ran her hand down it until she found a ladder. She climbed up it, and just as she reached the top, the Dark Knight burst through the door. That's when the lights came on. The huge stage lights revealed red velvet curtains covering a stage. They parted, revealing two actors standing on stage, both in costumes. One was made up to look like a rabbit, and the other a mouse. "Hey," The mouse said. "We doing a rehearsal here, do you mind?" Batman just huffed, and started scanning the area. Jasmine stood shaking, scared to be spotted, fortunately for her, the stage lights severally obstructed Batman's view of the catwalk.

"Come on, we haven't got all night!" The man dressed as the rabbit urged. Batman scanned a few more seconds, before heading back out the door. Jasmine sighed, then started to wonder how long she had to stay there until she was sure he wasn't waiting just outside for her. Then stage lights went off, and a spotlight from right above the stage game on, and then focused it's gaze on Lady Luck.

She squinted in the bright light, bringing her hand up so she could actually see the stage. She saw a blond man with a rather large nose, buck teeth, a top hat, and a blue coat, enter the scene from stage left. "And who might you be?" The Englishman asked. His voice sounded familiar, though Jasmine couldn't place it. "Jasmine, who are you?" His eyes brows went up, and smile spread across his face, "Oh yes, Lady Luck. Please, do come down! I am the Mad Hatter, at your service!" He took a bow as he said his name. jasmine started to climb down the ladder, then strolled down towards the stage. "I remember your cell was next to mine in Arkham," Jasmine commented. "Jervis, if I remember correctly. Thanks for help, by the way." "Oh it was no trouble, my dear. You're the reason I'm out of Arkham in the first place." He had yet to stop smiling at her. She pulled herself up onstage, ignoring the hand Jervis offered her. "Hello," She said to the actors, but they remained silent.

She tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "Don't bother, they can't even hear you?" Jervis explained. She turned her questioning gaze to him, and he continued, "they're under my control, they can't do anything I don't tell them to do." He pulled out a card 10/6 on it, much like the one on the side of his hat, and handed it to Jasmine. "It has circuitry designed to control the human brain." Jasmine flipped it over and examined it, her eyes growing wide. "Impressive," More than impressive, she thought, but she didn't say anything more, and handed it back to the man.

He took it back, "Why, thank you," His smile grew a bit. He motioned to the large table that was on stage, "Would you care for some tea?" The table was covered in tea cups, saucers, and tea pots, and surrounded by different types of chairs. Jasmine recognised it as the Tea Party scene, she had been in an Alice in Wonderland play in high school. She had been the Red Queen.

She remembered that she was supposed to be looking for Edward, "I shouldn't, I have someone I have to find," "Tsk, tsk, like the white rabbit, alway in hurry." Jasmine lifted her eyebrows, then smirked. She really wasn't in a huge hurry, she was safe here, and with the possibility of the Dark Knight waiting for her just outside, it seemed like a good idea to stay. "Sure, why not? It's been forever since I've had tea anyway."


	4. Reunion

Jasmine took another sip of the warm, sweet black tea, pretending to listen to the Mad Hatter ramble on about his favorite book. She'd nod every so often to make him think she was paying attention. In truth she was just happy to have some company, even though she wasn't the best listener. She thought maybe if she played her cards right, she might just have found a new friend. She was sitting at the far end of the table, as far from Jervis and his "friends" as possible. Still, Lady Luck figured this tea party was safer than Gotham streets at night, especially with the possibility of Batman being just outside.

"Now, tell me, Jasmine," Unfortunately, she still wasn't paying him any attention, "How did a young girl like you wind up in Arkham in the first place?" He waited several seconds, before realizing she hadn't heard him. "Are you listening?!" Jasmine jumped a bit, "Of course I am!" Jervis rolled his eyes, he wasn't convinced.

After a few seconds of silence, "Where's Alice?" Jasmine asked, nonchalantly. Jervis' eyes went wide, remembering. Then he suddenly crossed his arms, and turned his head away, "You didn't answer my question, why should I answer yours?" Jasmine didn't even remember him asking her one. Her face started turning red, and shifted in the fancy wooden chair, "I'm sorry, what was your question?" Jervis rolled his eyes, "How did you wind up in Arkham?" "Oh," Jasmine bit her lip, "I was transferred here, from the last hospital I stayed for more intensive treatment. The truck crashed on the way there, so I was free for a little while."

"Why did they put you in an asylum to begin with?" Jervis prodded further. "My obsession with blood, paranoia, Schizophrenia... there, happy?" Jervis said nothing, and looked down at his tea, pondering. "Now answer my question," Jasmine demanded. He sighed, "She... Went and married someone else..." He said it so quietly that Lady Luck almost didn't hear him.

"Oh, I'm... I'm sorry," She mentally kicked herself, wishing she'd kept her mouth shut. She started to think how his wonderland must be spoiled because of that, a perfect world ruined by just one person. There had to be more though, with his lost love being the tip of the iceberg. Her sick curiosity wanted to know more, but she knew better this time, some doors were meant to stay closed. Instead, she said something to quickly move away from the subject.

"Can I have some more tea?" "Oh yes! Of course!" His sudden mood swing made Jasmine jump. "March Hare," He said, causing the man dressed as a rabbit to get up, get the tea-pot, and pour her some tea. Jasmine was beginning to see how thin his happy charade was; he didn't deal with reality very well, did he? Than must be why he wears his costume, and takes on a new identity. Jasmine could easily relate, she loved the feeling her costume gave her, she had a new identity. She was no long Jasmine... Ugly, useless, lonely Jasmine, she was Lady Luck, invincible, respected... Feared.

She began to wonder if Edward was the same way, or Dr. Crane? Was the rest of the rogues gallery? Wearing a mask to avoid who they used to be? Could even Batman be the same? Maybe...

"Police!" Is all that was heard, before smoke grenades flew and landed on the stage. The flight response to a hold of her, Jasmine bolted, making her way to a backstage ladder, and climbed up to the catwalk. She found and slipped through an air vent, and found her way outside. She climbed onto the roof, then jumped to the next, then the next, until she was at the other side of the block.

She crouched, and watched from where she was, hoping she was hidden enough. They seemed to be no sign of Batman, fortunately... He must be in the theater now, Jasmine thought. She watched, she really couldn't hear anything from where she was, and couldn't focus to well because of the bright blue lights on the police cars.

After several minutes, she spotted Jervis being dragged out by Batman, then was handed to a couple of Police officers. An ambulance rolled up, Lady Luck guessed it was for the two mind controlled men that were at their tea party. The Mad Hatter was shoved into a police van, and started driving off; passing right by the building she was sitting on.

She took off after it, but of course, she had no hope of keeping up. She took a short cut towards Arkham Asylum, hoping to cut the van off. While on top of one of the roofs, she found a large shard of broken glass, and picked it up. She climbed down a fire escape onto the sidewalk, just as the van turned the corner. She pretended to collapse onto the street, forcing the van to stop before it ran her over.

The two men climbed out of the van, and ran over to her, throwing all caution to the wind. One man checked her pulse on her wrist (the shard was in her other hand). "Call an ambulance," He told his partner. The man gently shook her shoulder, "Miss, are you okay?" "Yes..." She quietly answered, before grabbing his arm, and ramming the make-shift weapon into his throat, causing blood to run down his body. The other man screamed, and reached for his gun. Jasmine pulled the dying man closer to her, running her tongue into the wound, tasting the sweet fluid.

The guy fired, emptying the clip, and of course, none of the bullets hit her, but a few went into his partner's head, killing him. She turned, and lunged, driving her weapon into his neck as well. Jasmine pulled it out, and then stabbed it into the area between the man's neck and collarbone, then took it back out again. The man was still alive, attempting to scream, nothing but came out, however, when Jasmine reached and grabbed the keys off his belt.

She was licking the blood covered shard of glass like it was a Popsicle, as she strolled around to the back of the van. She unlocked the doors, and pulled the both open. Her tongue stopped when she saw Jervis wasn't the only rogue in there.

"Well, what a surprise," She said. "Jasmine?" Edward had a puzzled and surprised look on his face; he looked like he'd been ruffed up, his green suit was covered in something, he must have fallen at some point. Jonathan Crane, who was also in his full outfit, was also with them; Jasmine wasn't sure how she felt about that.

They all climbed out of the van, Jasmine put the glass in between her teeth, and started taking off their cuffs. "Thank you very much," The Mad Hatter said, rubbing his now free wrists. Jonathan stared at her, he had yet to say anything, he just studied her. "Why did you help me?" Scarecrow asked. She lifted an eyebrow at him.

Jervis and Edward had made their way to the front of the van, looking at the dead men. The Mad Hatter made a comment about "painting the white roses red," referring to the white shirts now stained with blood.

Sirens could be heard in the distance, and Jasmine, as if it was becoming a reflex, took off into the cover of the dark alley, and then the three other rouges followed her. She grabbed the glass out of her mouth and threw it. It would have cut her cheeks open if she accidentally ran into something; she'd wind up looking like Joker!

She got to the other side of the block and stopped, trying to remember which way her hide-out was. "The sewers," Scarecrow ran up beside her, and pointed to a man-hole. There were blue lights in the distance, so Jasmine obeyed, and lifted the cover off. They all climbed down the ladder, with Jervis last, so he pulled the cover back over, plunging the group into darkness. "Oh great idea, Spooky! How the hell do see where-" Edward stopped as soon as Jonathan lit a flare. "Oh." "Will that last until we get out of here?" Jasmine asked. "I have a few, it should suffice." He answered. Jervis and Edward covered they're noses. "Come on then," Jasmine started walking down the walkway and the other followed.

"I can't believe we have to travel through the sewers!" Edward complained. "Well, the cops wouldn't think to look down here for us, would they?" Jervis responded, both the voices were muffled from their hands. "You didn't answer my question." Jonathan pointed out to Jasmine, right after lighting a new flare. Jasmine rolled her eyes. "You don't like answering questions, do you?" Edward asked. "What are you talking about? I answer your riddles." "You know that's not what I mean." She rolled her eyes, but didn't answer. "Also, how is the smell not bothering you?" Edward continued. The girl thought for a moment, "I've smelt worse, a lot worse, in fact." "Like what?" "Chicken houses, cow pastures and... Other rotting animals.

"While it's not the best place to get blood, but I couldn't keep biting into chicken or cows without the other farmers sitting out on the porches at night with their guns. I wasn't worried about getting shot, but they'd go to my dad about what I was doing. Though the problem with finding dead wild animals was that most of the blood was already drained out, and there were sometime maggots on-" "OKAY! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Edward practically screamed. "To much?" Jasmine asked. Jervis was a few feet behind, heaving. "Uh... Sorry about that..." She apologized.

It was several minutes before she spoke again, "Where are we going?" She asked. "You're leading the way." Jervis pointed out. "Well there's only one of two ways we can go, unless you feel like going for a swim. I was referring to when we get out of the sewers." Jasmine responded. "Well, my old hide out's a bust, so I was thinking I could hide out at your place, if it hasn't been found yet." "No." Jasmine said, flatly. She started walking just a bit faster, trying to put distance between herself and the other rouges. "Oh come on, it'll just be for a couple of days, and then I'll be out of your hair." She ran for the ladder just up ahead and climbed up, she just wanted to be away from them.

She pulled herself out, onto the street. She was shaking her head, trying to shake the thoughts, the flashbacks... The fear. She couldn't make rational decisions if she was freaked out and stressed. She was wrapped up in her own thoughts again, and failed to register the cop that approached her, "Don't move!" Jasmine lifted her eyebrow, "Oh, look, the fat pig." Bullock glared at her, his gun pointed at her, "Where are the other 3?" "Who?" "Don't play stupid, the 3 freaks you helped escape!" Lady Luck folded her arms, and shifted her weight to her back foot, "Oh them, well, I don't know where they are now." She glanced down, seeing the other were actually still there, at the bottom of the ladder, the red glow of the flare suddenly went out.

Jasmine let her arms fall, and she put her hands in her pockets. "Put your hands on your head, or I'll shoot," Bullock threatened, "I mean it!" She didn't listen, and only smiled at him. He wasn't stupid, firing his gun would have been pointless. "Alright, how about we make a deal?" He offered. "I'm listening..." "You tell me where to find your buddies, and I pretend I never saw you." "Oh?" Jasmine's eyebrows went up, and she smiled. "A nice offer, but like I said, I don't know where they're at."

'Lady Luck isn't a fucking snitch,' She thought to herself. Bullock reached and grabbed his radio, "This is Bullock, I'm at-" Something flew out of the open man-hole, hitting Bullock in the face. It released some kind of gas, causing Jasmine take a few steps back. Bullock screamed, clawing at things that she couldn't see. Dr. Crane pulled himself out of the sewer, followed by Nygma and Tetch. "Nice shot, did you play baseball in school?" Jasmine joked. He didn't respond, he was too busy watching Bullock squirm.

"We should get out of here before the cops show up," Edward said. Jasmine nodded, "Agreed." She started down the street, leading the way towards her hideout. When she noticed Jonathan wasn't turning away, she called, "You coming or not?" He finally looked at her, then followed.


End file.
